Five For Friday & Blog Anniversary Giveaway

Summer has officially started!! I started my summer vacation by meeting up with a friend at another school for lunch and taking an afternoon nap! I don't usually take naps but moving rooms during the past 2 days in the humidity and heat takes a toll on me!

 

 

1. I did not take many photos since it was a short week with my soon-to-be first graders! I used a cooperative learning structure for this particular activity. I had my students work in small groups of 4 students each. I had one group with less than 4, so I joined in. I asked my students what they were most proud of this year. I had them write and draw pictures in one of the boxes. Afterwards they rotated their paper so a friend could respond to their work. This was a timed activity- giving about 5 minutes for each round. We rotated two more times, so that all the boxes were filled. Some choose academics, while others wrote about other accomplishments. I didn't take pictures for my class this year, but here are samples I kept from one of my previous classes when I first did this activity.

 

I was proud when I learned to skate.

When I dive in the water without floaties.





 

2. On the last day of school, Wednesday, I participated in an end-of-the-year road rally with my school staff. It was fun! We played various games at four different locations in the community. Some of the games included unscrambling words, pictionary, balancing a frisbee on your head, flinging a rubber band, hitting a golf ball, etc. At each station, we earned tickets to raffle for various prizes. Afterwards, we went to a restaurant to celebrate our end-of-the-year. I didn't take any pictures... my team and I dressed in red, white, and blue. Some of the more creative teams dressed up as nuns, rock n roll band members, cowgirls, and hula girls. Very cute!

 

3. Thursday and Friday involved moving my stuff next door to a smaller classroom with a different type of storage space. So I just put things in cabinets and on shelves. Here are 2 pictures of some of my stuff. I will so need to reorganize when I get back!

 

 

4. I also took some things home to reorganize as a summer project. My living room quickly turned into a classroom library. I have tubs of books, bags of books along the wall, and bags of books on my bookshelves. These are the books that are not kept out all year, but are changed throughout the year as we learn about different themes. I have kept them in tubs, plastic bins, and ziplock bags. Now, it is time to change and try a new way. I have already ordered some bins from Really Good Stuff. They are suppose to be arriving on Monday!

 

 

 

5. I cannot believe I have embarked on this blogging adventure over a year ago! I have definately broadened my teacher's bag of tools and tricks. I have met some extraordinary teachers and bloggers. It has been a rewarding experience. I will be having a giveaway to celebrate this event. I will post it tomorrow! Here's a preview! Please come back and visit tomorrow for a chance to win!